Many fields of medical treatment and healthcare require monitoring of certain body functions. Thus, e.g., for patients suffering from diabetes, a regular check of the blood glucose level forms an essential part of the daily routine. The blood glucose level has to be determined quickly and reliably several times per day. Health monitoring devices are used to facilitate the collection of medical information without unduly disturbing the lifestyle of the patient. A large number of health monitoring devices for monitoring various body functions are commercially available.
Nevertheless, the use of health monitoring devices involves some risks which are mainly due to the complexity of using health monitoring devices. The risks are sometimes more pronounced for elderly patients or infants. Misuse of the health monitoring devices may lead to handling failures and to insufficient or even inaccurate information. Further, since many of the patients handling the health monitoring devices have not undergone medical training, the interpretation of the medical data collected by the health monitoring devices may be challenging to them. Often, patients are required to see their doctors in short time-intervals on a regular basis.
To reduce the frequency of necessary visits to doctors, the idea of home care gained popularity over the recent years. The availability of communication networks, such as the internet and wireless communication networks, led to the development of health management systems that enable transmission of patient medical data from the patient's home to a healthcare center by using health monitoring devices and data transfer systems. U.S. Pat. No. 7,103,578 and U.S. Published Application No. 2004/0172284 disclose two such methods and systems, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference.
Known health management systems have several disadvantages. Some systems provide limited interaction capabilities to patients and care givers. Often, systems have limited analytical capabilities. Further, many health management systems do not permit collection of additional data or modification of data collected by the health management system. A need remains for systems that facilitate the use and interpretation of patient medical data.